One of the few states to not have a shot clock for high school basketball will finally utilize it in the near future.
On Wednesday, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) board of directors formally approved a shot clock for classes 6A through 3A. The vote was 11-3, and it will take effect starting with the 2026-27 season.
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Shot clocks will be 35 seconds in length.
In another motion, the board approved - by a 10-4 margin - the use of a shot clock in non-playoff games for classes 2A through B, pending approval by the National Federation of State High School Associations. If a 6A-3A school plays against a 2A-B school, the host team will decide whether the shot clock will be utilized.
Several state high school associations in recent years have passed motions to implement shot clocks for high school basketball, and Oklahoma will finally join the fold. According to the NFHS, 31 other states as well as Washington, D.C., will utilize shot clocks by the beginning of the 2026-27 season.
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The demands to have a shot clock in Oklahoma really intensified in February of 2023 after a boys basketball game in which Weatherford defeated Anadarko, 4-2. Right before that game was played, a motion to have shot clocks in Oklahoma for Classes 6A-3A was presented to the OSSAA Board of Directors, but it was denied in a close 8-7 vote.
But prior to Wednesday’s vote, a new motion gained more favorable traction, especially after earlier this month, when the OSSAA’s Basketball Advisory Committee - in a unanimous vote - approved a recommendation to utilize shot clocks for all classes starting in the 2026-27 season. It also gained support from the Oklahoma Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.